What is the TOEFL Listen and Repeat task?

It is a Speaking task in the 2026 TOEFL iBT. You repeat seven spoken sentences within a scenario set in an academic or campus-life setting. After each sentence there is a pause, then you repeat exactly what you heard. Sentences get progressively longer and more complex, and you have 8 to 12 seconds to record each response.

How many sentences are in Listen and Repeat?

Seven sentences, making up 7 of the 11 items in the Speaking section. It is AI-scored on accurate and clearly intelligible repetition, at CEFR levels A1 to C2.

How is Listen and Repeat scored?

It is AI-scored on two things: whether your response is an accurate repetition of the sentence, and whether it is clearly intelligible.

TOEFL iBT® · Speaking · 2026

TOEFL Listen and Repeat: how the task works

Listen and Repeat is one of the two Speaking task types in the 2026 TOEFL iBT® test. It checks how accurately and clearly you can reproduce sentences you hear. Here's the format, a worked example and tips — then try it in a free full-length mock.

What the task is

You repeat seven sentences within a scenario built around a campus or study situation — which gives you a real reason for listening and repeating. Each set of sentences is paired with a visual of the setting, and moving through the sentences corresponds to moving through parts of that illustration.

After each sentence you hear, there is a pause, and then you repeat exactly what was said. Each sentence is a little longer and harder than the one before. For each one, you have a short window — about 8 to 12 seconds — to record your response.

A worked example

This is our own illustration of the format (not an official test item). Picture the setup: you're learning to show visitors around the campus library, and you hear the librarian's sentences one at a time — each played once — and say each one back.

You hear (and repeat each one after a pause):

Welcome to the library.
Quiet study rooms are upstairs.
Return borrowed laptops to the front desk.
You can borrow ten books with your student card.
If a book is on loan, reserve it through the library website.
Please return every laptop before the building closes at nine in the evening.
Whenever a reserved book becomes available, the library will email you and hold it at the front desk for two days.

Notice how the sentences start short and grow longer and more detailed — the later ones test whether you can hold and reproduce a longer, more complex sentence accurately. Your goal is an exact, clearly intelligible repetition, not a paraphrase.

How many items, and how it's scored

7 sentences — Listen and Repeat makes up 7 of the 11 items in the Speaking section.
8–12 seconds to record each response.
AI-scored on (1) accurate repetition and (2) clear intelligibility. CEFR A1–C2.
It sits in the Speaking section — the fourth and final section, linear (not adaptive), about 8 minutes.

How to prepare

Listen to the whole sentence before you start — repeating in fragments hurts accuracy on the longer ones.
Hold the exact wording. This task rewards precise repetition, so don't rephrase or "improve" the sentence.
Speak clearly and at a steady pace — intelligibility is assessed alongside repeat accuracy. Don't rush the long sentences.
Practise short-term memory for speech — listen to sentences and repeat them back, gradually increasing length.
Get used to being recorded so the pause-then-speak rhythm feels natural.
Practise under timing. A free full-length mock includes Speaking in the 2026 format.

Practise Listen and Repeat free

Take a full-length practice mock built to the 2026 TOEFL iBT® format — including Speaking — and get a predicted 1–6 band. No card required.

Take a free mock → The Speaking section

Avermond Test Prep is an independent preparation service. TOEFL® is a registered trademark of ETS. This product is not endorsed or approved by ETS. Task descriptions and item counts reflect ETS's published January-2026 TOEFL iBT test specifications and may be subject to minor revision before launch.